Pagina's

The terror raid in the UK of last Wednesday, in which nine were arrested, has a couple of angles to it that shed some disheartening light on muslim participation in a western society. Even if there are some bright glimmers of hope to be found.

To start with the glimmers of hope: Two British muslim soldiers volunteered to act as 'bait' in a sting operation by MI5 to catch the would-be jihadist that had planned to abduct the soldiers, torture them, behead them and filming the entire thing for release on the internet.

Yesterday senior military sources told how they had been alerted to the possible abduction by police several weeks ago after the list of potential victims was narrowed down to just two.

But instead of taking the possible targets into protective custody, the men agreed to act as bait to try to smoke out their would-be attackers.

Their actions drew strong praise from senior security sources who said the soldiers showed "serious nerve" in the way they cooperated.

Incredibly, the two men carried on with their daily routines but were secretly shadowed around the clock by police and intelligence personnel, using high-technology tracking and bugging techniques. Surveillance teams kept a constant watch, looking for any sign of the plotters.

The two men were fitted with discreet tracking devices, with similar beacons attached to their cars, and armed response teams were on permanent standby to stage a rescue mission in case a kidnap plot was sprung.

[...]

One insider added: "It was a brave thing to do. Effectively they agreed to act as bait - like tethered goats - without any way of knowing how real the danger was. They had to trust the police."

There has already been speculation that the men's bravery being recognised with a medal or other award, although Army chiefs are anxious to keep their identities under wraps.

It is hard to imagine the courage it must have taken these two outstanding human beings to risk their hide in this manner to bring down what amounts to a bunch of human scum. I tip my hat to them with all the respect that is commanded. They are truely members of my tribe, and I of theirs.

However, for all the advertising that islam is a Religion of Peace(tm) the reactions from British muslim quarters to the arrest of these criminals can only be descibed as deeply disappointing. The general reaction in muslim communities described by the Times: It must be a government plot and the entire ummah is the victim:

That many seem not to believe police reassurances is at least in part because they are listening to a very different message from mosques across the city. Take the Birmingham Central Mosque, where up to 4,000 people will be attending Friday prayers today.

Its chairman for the past 32 years has been Mohammed Naseem, a past champion of interfaith dialogue who was for many years regarded as a voice of Islamic moderation. A year ago, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Birmingham.

Dr Nasseem, 83, yesterday told The Times of his certainty that the nine arrested men were innocent of any crime and would eventually be released without charge.

He spoke of his conviction that the Government was “pursuing a policy of maintaining a perception of a [terrorist] threat to justify the draconian anti-terror laws they have been passing”.

He went on to compare Tony Blair’s Britain to Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under Stalin. People were beginning to realise, he said, that the Government had embarked on “a campaign to strike terror in the hearts of the Muslim people”.

A fatwa [religious ruling] by a man calling himself Afdal al-Jihad and posted on a mainstream web community is titled "Muslims serving in an Army of Kuffar" [non-believers]. Al-Jihad says: "Muslims cannot fight under the banner of kuffar or with them; Muslims must avoid attaching themselves to nation states; Muslims must avoid harming and fighting other Muslims."

So here we have the sad truth. There is a tiny minority of muslims who have found a modus vivendi in a western society, while keeping their faith. And there is a far larger group of co-religionist who claim to be dedicated to the fatherland of their choice, but who, when push comes to shove, will choose to stand up for a band for torturing, murdering thugs over applauding the men who helped keep British society a little bit safer and more civilized.